Cross-sectional study.
To determine prevalence rates of spondylolysis, isthmic, and degenerative spondylolisthesis in an unselected adult community-based population; and to evaluate the association ...of spondylolysis, isthmic, and degenerative spondylolisthesis with low back pain (LBP).
Spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis are prevalent in the general population; however, the relationship between these conditions and LBP is controversial.
This study was an ancillary project to the Framingham Heart Study. A sample of 3529 participants of the Framingham Heart Study aged 40 to 80 years underwent multidetector CT imaging to assess aortic calcification. One hundred eighty-eight individuals were consecutively enrolled in this study to assess radiographic features potentially associated with LBP. The occurrence of LBP in the preceding 12 months was evaluated using a self-report questionnaire. The presence of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis was characterized by CT imaging. We used multiple logistic regression models to examine the association between spondylolysis, spondylolisthesis, and LBP, while adjusting for gender, age, and BMI.
Twenty-one study subjects demonstrated spondylolysis on computed tomography (CT) imaging. The male-to-female ratio was approximately 3:1. Twenty-one percent of subjects with bilateral spondylolytic defects demonstrated no measurable spondylolisthesis. The male-to-female ratio of degenerative spondylolisthesis was 1:3, and the prevalence of degenerative spondylolisthesis increased from the fifth through 8 decades of life. Thirty-eight subjects (20.4%) reported significant LBP. No significant association was identified between spondylolysis, isthmic spondylolisthesis, or degenerative spondylolisthesis, and the occurrence of LBP.
Based on CT imaging of an unselected community-based population, the prevalence of lumbar spondylolysis is 11.5%, nearly twice the prevalence of previous plain radiograph-based studies. This study did not reveal a significant association between the observation of spondylolysis on CT and the occurrence of LBP, suggesting that the condition does not seem to represent a major cause of LBP in the general population.
Objectives. The pectoral nerve block type II (PECS II block) is widely used for postoperative analgesia after breast surgery. This study evaluated the analgesic efficacy of PECS II block in patients ...undergoing breast-conserving surgery (BCS) and sentinel lymph node biopsy (SNB). Methods. Patients were randomized to the control group (n=40) and the PECS II group (n=40). An ultrasound-guided PECS II block was performed after induction of anesthesia. The primary outcome measure was opioid consumption, and the secondary outcome was pain at the breast and axillary measured using the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) 24 hours after surgery. Opioid requirement was assessed according to tumor location. Results. Opioid requirement was lower in the PECS II than in the control group (43.8 ± 28.5 µg versus 77.0 ± 41.9 µg, p<0.001). However, the frequency of rescue analgesics did not differ between these groups. Opioid consumption in the PECS II group was significantly lower in patients with tumors in the outer area than that in patients with tumors in the inner area (32.5 ± 23.0 µg versus 58.0 ± 29.3 µg, p=0.007). The axillary NRS was consistently lower through 24 hr in the PECS II group. Conclusion. Although the PECS II block seemed to reduce pain intensity and opioid requirements for 24 h after BCS and SNB, these reductions may not be clinically significant. This trial is registered with Clinical Research Information Service KCT0002509.
Affinity purification followed by mass spectrometry identification (AP-MS) is an increasingly popular approach to observe protein-protein interactions (PPI) in vivo. One drawback of AP-MS, however, ...is that it is prone to detecting indirect interactions mixed with direct physical interactions. Therefore, the ability to distinguish direct interactions from indirect ones is of much interest.
We first propose a simple probabilistic model for the interactions captured by AP-MS experiments, under which the problem of separating direct interactions from indirect ones is formulated. Then, given idealized quantitative AP-MS data, we study the problem of identifying the most likely set of direct interactions that produced the observed data. We address this challenging graph theoretical problem by first characterizing signatures that can identify weakly connected nodes as well as dense regions of the network. The rest of the direct PPI network is then inferred using a genetic algorithm.Our algorithm shows good performance on both simulated and biological networks with very high sensitivity and specificity. Then the algorithm is used to predict direct interactions from a set of AP-MS PPI data from yeast, and its performance is measured against a high-quality interaction dataset.
As the sensitivity of AP-MS pipeline improves, the fraction of indirect interactions detected will also increase, thereby making the ability to distinguish them even more desirable. Despite the simplicity of our model for indirect interactions, our method provides a good performance on the test networks.
Abstract Background context The prevalence of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) in the general population and association with low back pain (LBP) remain unclear. Purpose To evaluate the prevalence of ...congenital and acquired LSS observed on computed tomography in a community-based sample; and to evaluate the association between LSS and LBP. Study design/setting Cross-sectional observational study. This study was an ancillary project to the Framingham Heart Study. Patient sample A total of 3,529 participants underwent multidetector computed tomography; 191 were enrolled in this study. Outcome measures Self-report measures: LBP in the preceding 12 months was evaluated using a self-report questionnaire. Physiologic measures: LSS (congenital and acquired) was characterized using two cut-points: 12 mm for relative LSS and 10 mm for absolute LSS. Methods Using multiple logistic regression, we examined the association between LSS and LBP, adjusting for sex, age, and body mass index. Results In the congenital group, relative LSS was found in 4.7% and absolute LSS in 2.6% of patients. Acquired LSS was found in 22.5% and in 7.3%, respectively. Acquired LSS showed increasing prevalence with age less than 40 years, the prevalence of relative and absolute LSS was 20.0% and 4.0%, respectively, and in those 60 to 69 years the prevalence was 47.2% and 19.4%, respectively. The presence of absolute LSS was associated with LBP with an odds ratio of 3.16 (95% confidence interval CI: 1.05–9.53). Conclusions The prevalence of congenital and acquired LSS in a community-based sample was characterized. The prevalence of acquired stenosis increased with age. LSS is associated with a threefold higher risk of experiencing LBP.
Oral administration of liraglutide, a protein drug, suffers from low intestinal absorption and instability in the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in low bioavailability. The present study aimed to ...develop a pH-responsive nanocomposite based-colonic delivery system to improve the oral efficacy of liraglutide.
Nanocomplex (AC-Lira) between aminoclay and liraglutide was prepared by a spontaneous self-assembly. After surface charge reversal using citric acid, AC-Lira was coated with poly(methacrylic acid-co-methyl methacrylate) (1:2). The fabricated nanocomplex underwent various in vitro studies to characterize its physicochemical properties, drug release, and cellular transport. In vivo efficacy studies were also conducted using streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
Both uncoated (AC-Lira) and coated nanocomplex (EAC-Lira) achieved high entrapment efficiency (> 90%) and showed a narrow size distribution. While exhibiting low drug release at pH 1.2 (approximately 30%), EAC-Lira achieved rapid and extensive drug release (~90%) at pH 7.4, displaying pH-dependent drug release. EAC-Lira showed significant size reduction and surface charge reversal during dissolution at pH 7.4, probably due to the removal of the outer coating layer. Furthermore, EAC-Lira was effective at protecting the entrapped proteins against enzymatic degradation. EAC-Lira also increased the membrane transport of liraglutide by 3.5 folds in Caco-2 cells. Owing to enhanced membrane transport and metabolic stability, EAC-Lira improved in vivo efficacy of orally administered liraglutide, significantly reducing blood glucose concentrations, intake of food and water, and body weight in type 2 diabetes rats.
These results suggest EAC-Lira is a promising approach to improving the oral bioavailability and efficacy of liraglutide.
The effect of quenching temperature on local atomic structure of Al85Ni5Co2Y8 metallic glass has been investigated in the present study. With increasing quenching temperature from 1273 K to 1573 K, ...the amount of medium range order (MRO) tends to decrease, while the structural unit size remains almost constant. The higher amount of MRO leads to movement of the crystallization nose of time-temperature-transformation (TTT) curve to a longer time scale by raising the viscosity of the liquid. On the other hand, quenched-in nuclei are present in the samples with higher quenching temperature, since the probability of intersecting the crystallization nose during cooling becomes higher with increasing quenching temperature. As a result, typical two types of as-quenched microstructure can be obtained, i.e. fully amorphous structure with higher amount of MRO and that with embedded quenched-in nuclei as well as relatively lower amount of MRO. The sample quenched at 1273 K without quenched-in nuclei exhibits the most fragile behavior, indicating that the fragility can be affected by the quenching temperature as well as the alloy composition in Al-based metallic glass.
•The amount of MRO and quenched in nuclei change with quenching temperature.•The sample with higher amount of MRO exhibits the most fragile behavior.•The fragility is affected by quenching temperature as well as by composition.
A Sagnac loop interferometer based on polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber was built and analyzed. Mainly the temperature dependence of the Sagnac loop filter function was measured and ...analyzed. By measuring the filtering function of the Sagnac loop as a function of the temperature over 200 degrees C, we deduced an unambiguous temperature dependent birefringence coefficient, d n/dT = 2.0 x 10-9 /K. Over the full temperature swing, the maximum peak shifts was less than 10% of the filter period. For comparison, a standard Sagnac loop was built with the exact same length and experimental condition, where we deduced d n/dT = 7.0 x 10-8 /K.
Cycling provides opportunities to promote healthy and sustainable cities. However, few studies examine cyclists' perceived attributes of a bicycle-friendly environment in relation to compact urban ...contexts. This study explored the attributes of perceived bikeability and urban context related to the cycling experience in Seoul, Korea. Purposive sampling with public recruitment and a snowball technique was used to recruit twenty-two cyclists and three bicycle-related community service providers from a bikeable environment. Qualitative multi-methods, including semi-structured interviews and bicycle tours with a GPS device, were adopted. The main themes of perceived bikeability were derived through thematic analysis. Cyclists perceived the attributes of a bicycle-friendly physical environment as essential components of bikeability. In urban environments where cycling is not yet recognized as the main transportation mode, internal conflict among cyclists and external conflicts between cyclists and other transportation users were evident. A supportive community system included developing an appropriate environment, providing information, and expanding riding opportunities. A bicycle-friendly culture accumulated over a long period influenced the initiation and maintenance of cycling and contributed to a more bikeable community environment. Cyclists' attitude, behaviors, and perceived environment differed according to purpose. Policy, system, and environmental changes are required to promote cycling in compact urban contexts.
The current study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of transdermal therapeutic system (TTS) fentanyl in the management of acute pain due to oral mucositis in patients receiving ...stem cell transplantation. A cohort of consecutive patients with painful oral mucositis were enrolled. Initially, 25 μg/h of TTS fentanyl was administered for the treatment of oral mucositis pain. The pain score, based on a visual analogue scale, and mood and quality of sleep as determined by EORTC QLQ-C30 (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, Quality of Life Questionnaire, Cancer 30), were all recorded before the treatment, then 2, 6, and 10 days later. Twenty-two patients with hematologic malignancies were enrolled. Three patients were excluded from the response assessment, as their TTS fentanyl treatment was stopped owing to related complaints, including severe dizziness, severe vomiting, and an extensive body rash. The total duration of the treatment was 8 days (range, 6–15 days) and the total amount of TTS fentanyl administered per patient was 2.21 at 25 μg/h and 0.63 at 50 μg/h. Six (31.6%) of the remaining 19 patients required an escalated dose of TTS fentanyl at 50 μg/h. The mean pain scores before treatment and 2, 6, and 10 days later were 6.68, 5.17, 3.42, and 2.13, respectively (
P < .001). Eight (42.1%) and seven (36.8%) patients experienced improved sleep and mood after treatment, respectively. The TTS fentanyl was effective in both relieving oral mucositis pain with an excellent tolerability and improving the quality of life for hematological patients receiving high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplantation.
A development of Ti-based bulk metallic glass Kim, Y.C.; Kim, W.T.; Kim, D.H.
Materials science & engineering. A, Structural materials : properties, microstructure and processing,
07/2004, Letnik:
375-377
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The thermal property, crystallization behavior, glass forming ability (GFA) and mechanical properties of Ti-based amorphous alloys were studied by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray ...diffractometry, transmission electron microscopy and compressive test. These alloys were developed systematically by considering atomic size and interaction parameters between constituting elements. Partial replacement of Cu by Be and Ti by Zr in Ti–Cu–Ni–Sn alloy improved the GFA. Fully amorphous rods, of diameter 2, 5 and 8mm, could be fabricated by injection casting Ti50Cu25Ni15Sn3Be7, Ti45Cu25Ni15Sn3Be7Zr5 and Ti40Zr25Ni8Cu9Be18 alloys, respectively. The Trg(=Tg/Tl) and γ (=Tx/(Tg+Tl)) parameter shows a relatively good agreement with the maximum diameter of bulk glass, while ΔTx has poor relationship with the GFA of alloys. The bulk amorphous alloys exhibit high compressive strength of approximately 2500MPa with good ductility.
PDF
